Editing 47: Counter-Red Spiders

{{comic
| number    = 47
| date      = January 9, 2006
| title     = Counter-Red Spiders
| before    = <big><big><span class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=Drawing%3A%20Counter%2DRed%20Spiders LiveJournal title</span>]: '''Drawing: Counter-Red Spiders'''</big></big>
| image     = counter-red-spiders.jpg
| titletext = I hope we can stop them<br><br><span class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063441/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/#:~:text=Drawing%3A%20Counter%2DRed%20Spiders LiveJournal caption</span>]: [http://www.xkcd.com/red_spiders_small.jpg They] must be [http://www.xkcd.com/red_spiders_2.jpg stopped].
}}

==Explanation==
This was the forty-forth comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[46: Secrets]], and the next one was [[48: Found]]. It was among the [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd|last eleven comics]] posted both on LiveJournal and on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] after the new site was launched. This comic was published on the same day across both sites, but not all of them shared the same posting day.

In previous comics, red spiders are seen navigating similar landscapes. Here, humanoid stick figures are standing on top of each other to reach some place above the top of the comic, in a similar manner to how the red spiders navigate, in order to engage in a {{w|counter-offensive}} against the red spiders. These stick figures must be extremely light, or gravity must be really weak there, because it is extremely unlikely or even impossible to have a stack of humans that tall.

The title text indicates that [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] hopes the counter-offensive is able to prevent the red spiders' attack. However, the invasion in [[126: Red Spiders Cometh|Red Spiders Cometh]] suggests that it may have been unsuccessful. In the original caption, he provides two links to the images of the previous comics. The links are now defunct, so here's the caption with the archived versions of the links: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063826/http://www.xkcd.com/red_spiders_small.jpg They] must be [https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063826/http://www.xkcd.com/red_spiders_2.jpg stopped]."

The full series of [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]] comics:
*[[8: Red Spiders]], the first one.
*[[43: Red Spiders 2]], in which the spiders begin building.
*[[47: Counter-Red Spiders]], this one.
*[[126: Red Spiders Cometh]], in which the spiders attack a city.
*[[427: Bad Timing]], in which, in a style more typical to xkcd, the spiders attack a couple in the middle of a serious relationship discussion in a hot-air balloon.
*[[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], in which it appears briefly in the 14th panel crawling over a cube.

==Transcript==
:[A stack of stick figures, standing on each others shoulders, 11 stick figures shown in the comic, extends from the bottom of the frame to the top. Cuboids hang in the air.]
:The counter-red-spider offensive begins...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal| 44]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd.com]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Red Spiders]]